Passenger Trains > Dates of Amtrak station destaffings

This list is from a TRAINS.com item, today:

Southwest Chief (5): Lamy, N.M.(July 31)*; La Junta, Colo.(June 1)*;
Topeka, Kan.(May 20)*; Garden City, Kan.(May 15); and
Fort Madison, Ia.(May 16)

Crescent (2): Meridian, Miss.(May 17)* and Tuscaloosa, Ala.(May 21)*

Texas Eagle (2): Texarkana, Ark.(May 15)* and Marshall, Tex. (June 29)

Empire Builder (2): Havre, Mont.(June 1)* and Shelby, Mont.(June 5)*

Cardinal (2): Cincinnati, Oh. (June 5)* and Charleston, W.Va.(June 6)*

California Zephyr (1): Ottumwa, Ia.(May 19)

City of New Orleans (1): Hammond, La.(May 15)*

Some will probably tell us this is a benign change...one of them
is illustrated below.

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East Lansing MI is supposed to close in July. Puts at least 160 people on 365 on Friday mornings , most for Chicago.

I asked this on another thread but nobody answered, so I'll try again - what do the station agents do at the small stations that only see two trains a day? Especially if there isn't checked baggage. With so many people (probably the majority) using the website for tickets and having them emailed or using their smart phones, how much work do they do? I am used to stations along the NEC which have high patronage and are selling commuter rail tickets in addition to Amtrak, and these folks are quite busy so curious about these small stations.

I am not bashing station agents, just seriously wondering what all they do at some stations with minimal patronage.

Don't forget Amtrak's begfest to the States along the midsection of the Southwest
Chief route to come up with money for track maintenance. Amtrak cried poor...
"We are the only traffic on the line and we can't afford to fix the track, boo-hoo!"

So the States came up with money.

And Amtrak now says, "We're closing the stations. Screw you."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/18 17:43 by GenePoon.

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F40PHR231 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cole42 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > what do the station
> > agents do at the small stations that only see
> two
> > trains a day?
>
> Quite a few of the stations Gene posted include
> the cessation of checked baggage (for starters, La
> Junta, Lamy, Topeka, Fort Madison...) Destaffings
> puts people with disabilities at a disadvantage,
> because it is unrealistic to expect they can
> handle multiple suitcases while boarding and
> detraining, especially if they're in a mobility
> device. Stations with checked baggage help people
> with disabilities because relatives/friends who
> drop/pick them up are often available to help with
> luggage to/from the ticket counter. Stations
> without checked baggage, yet still have staff on
> hand, are there to streamline the
> boarding/detraining process, and make things a
> little easier for the train crew.
>
> The cessation of checked baggage also serves as a
> disadvantage to firearm owners. Amtrak was forced
> by congress to accept firearms, so this is another
> way for Amtrak to excuse themselves from that
> responsibility, in turn alienating those riders,
> whether they carry for hunting purposes or for
> self defense.

Yeah doing away with checked baggage seems counter intuitive, but may just be a step to getting rid of LDT's. Thanks for the input.

But I am still wondering from a business standpoint, if a station doesn't have checked baggage, other than assisting the train crew is it cost effective to have a full time employee for 2 trains a day and what are they doing when it isn't train time? And since so many trains run hours late, do those agents get overtime until the train has departed? I am not saying I agree with destaffing stations, just looking at it from the management angle. I have boarded in the middle of the night at an unstaffed station, it is not very customer oriented at all, but with the budget issues that are always there can reducing staffed stations show a measurable monetary savings I wonder.

I still miss freight agents in small town stations where as a kid I could go in and ask if any trains were coming by soon, but that has been gone for years.

Take all these soon to be unstaffed stations and turn them over rent free (or rent free for a period of years) to carefully vetted young business people and allow them to use the space to set up coffee shops, cafes, tourist shops, etc. in return for staying open during train times, helping disabled passengers and putting on and taking off checked baggage. Have a uniform Amtrak branding for these new operations. This is a better alternative to unmanned ghost stations open for vandalism, passenger abuse and a crummy image for Amtrak. Small town bus stations caught on to this a long time ago.

mt-king. The unions would raise hell to your idea on checked luggage. Even if it helped keep passenger service going.

On the subject of Gun checking, lot more bikes are handled, which now will not be.

Cole 42,

In answer to your question, some of these station agents work split shifts. They report to work about an hour or two before the train arrives and stay after the train departs. They then sell tickets, re-issue or change tickets for patrons. Example might be a late train where a connection is going to be missed and the patron can be booked on a Thruway or connecting bus. They check baggage and line things up for those with disabilities. If the station is a crew change point, they coordinate ticketholders with the oncoming crew. The agents do this twice a day. Many of these rural stations deal with seniors who prefer to interact with a live person when it comes to ticketing.

This has been my experience.
Cardo

No agents at my local stations, there is a custodian who opens the station building before train time, walk passengers out to the train and lock up after the trains leave. No checked baggage. The train crew handles the ADA lift, when needed. All questions directed to Amtrak via the toll free number (although the custodians will say what they have heard).

We have two sets of trains at my local stations ... two westbounds to Chicago in the morning and two eastbounds from Chicago in the late evening. When on schedule the evening trains are a few hours apart. Certainly a split shift between morning and night.

mt-king, I like your idea. One could even get food to go that would be better than the snack car stuff.

I'm picturing a replacement for dining car service that's either a replica of the early Harvey House system, or (more likely) a replica of the "locals on the station platform selling stuff off a food cart" that you see in the third world.

FYI, I have had some incredibly good food on third world station platforms.

My local station, Mineola Tex, is staffed by volunteers.

They are extremely helpful and quite friendly, after all, they do it because they want to.

mundo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mt-king. The unions would raise hell to your idea
> on checked luggage.

Are you saying the various station agents around the country are all union members? Wow, that is a lot of overhead.

> On the subject of Gun checking, lot more bikes
> are handled, which now will not be.

And in this day and age, the current bike policy needs to be changed. There is no reason that every train can have one car capable of storing 6-10 bikes without being boxed or folded.

But...doesn't Amtrak *already* have a trainside checked luggage program?

I got this from a reputable source last evening. I must confess it's the first I've even heard of it, and I tend to follow these things pretty closely.

FROM:

Service Standards Manual for Train Service and
On-Board Service Employees, Version 10,
effective 12:01 am, April 30, 2017.


Trainside Check

Offered at the following stations:

> • Staffed stations that have limited storage space.

> • 5-day stations.

> • Unstaffed stations.

(it goes on, with detailed procedures.)

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

I think that an agent is also required for Amtrak Express. I think in Cincinnati there is a forklift and other material handling equipment for LCL shipments - https://www.amtrak.com/amtrak-express-shipping